Atheist Reasoning on Gun Control in the U.S

Atheists are a small minority in the U.S. Advocates of gun control might be a minority in America as well. In light of the recent shootings in Aurora I am curious as to how atheists in this network view the lack of gun restrictions. There are probably divergent views.

I have trouble believing that both presidential candidates are steering away from any call for reform after the horrific mass shooting. In my opinion it is insane to allow citizens access to assault weapons that can kill scores of people in a few minutes. It was even more shocking to hear on a news show that a family had to raise money to pay for the immense hospital bills for one of the victims while they were already crippled with medical bills from the mothers fight with breast cancer.

As a Canadian I came to stand with my U.S brothers for the reason rally and freedom from religion. I would be willing to come down to the capitol and march for two other important causes. Gun control and universal health care.

Replies to This Discussion

Not at all. It is not legislation per se that is effective, but laws combined with good enforcement. The experience of other countries with more restrictive laws is both relevant and convincing. The sources of violence are hard to root out, but limiting the means available is certainly one way that appears to be effective in reducing it.

I once read of a Pacific Island whose people had little more than yams to eat. Medical exams revealed them to be malnourished.

Here in the US of A, something in our diet facilitates the growth of a violence hormone.

More seriously, about health care and beggars. The more you read of the USA's founders, the more certain you can be that they intended these and similar outcomes. Alexander Hamilton said he wanted the "rich and well born" to govern. Among James Madison's writings is this jewel: he wanted the government to protect "the opulent minority from the majority".

A Committee on Style wrote our Constitution's final draft and one history said a man who liked ambiguity chaired the committee. He prevailed. He might have intended to provide for lawyers.

Alexander Hamilton said he wanted the "rich and well born" to govern. Among James Madison's writings is this jewel: he wanted the government to protect "the opulent minority from the majority".

A very British idea—that only landowners could be trusted with governing as they had natural interests to preserve along with the education to know how to govern. Pure democracy was equated with mob rule.

This seems strange to us now, but it was the rule throughout most of history and continued to be the case in Britain up through World War I. Barbara Tuchmann begins her book "The Proud Tower" with a recital of the ranks and qualifications of the Salisbury cabinet of 1895. All were peers and held extensive land. It is only in modern times in the United States that an impoverished background has been considered advantageous in politics. At present it seems that lack of education is also helpful in getting elected.

Land of the north, Chicago is calling to you. Calling your sesame bagels, smoked meat and Tim Hortons double-doubles. Calling your low rates of gun crime, and universal health care. Calling your oil, especially your oil. We hope some of that Canadian good fortune rubs off on our city.

Fact-checking the NRA's Wayne LaPierre (by Politi-Fact, a project of the St. Petersburg, Florida, Times):

"After a quiet period following the shootings in Newtown, Conn., the National Rifle Association has been making a case for armed guards at schools and other measures rather than restrictions on guns.

"We've fact-checked many claims about gun control -- you can find them on our guns subject page -- and this week checked three that Wayne LaPierre, the group's executive vice president, made in an op-ed in the Daily Caller:

"To make the case that major cities were unsafe, LaPierre made a claim we've checked many times, that Phoenix "is already one of the kidnapping capitals of the world." We rated that False.

"He said President Barack Obama " flagrantly defies the 2006 federal law ordering the construction of a secure border fence along the entire Mexican border." We rated that Mostly False.

"LaPierre claimed that after Hurricane Sandy, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg "refused to allow the National Guard into the city to restore civil order because Guardsmen carry guns!" That earned a Mostly False."

The average citizen does not need assault weapons. If you argue that the constitution gives you a right to have them, you might as well be argueing that you have a right to own an atomic bomb. I'm a former gun enthusiast, but more needs to be done here because of America's gun violence. Why is it not done? Votes. The man running for office who wants to curb guns and gun violence will not get the votes. That's plain and simple.

I do see headlines that I agree with. The most recent from St. Louis, Mo. involves an apparent home invasion. The 17 year old daughter had went outside for something to apparently end up being used as a shield by 2 armed men who forced her back inside. The homeowners had guns. The end result was that one of the invaders was killed at the scene, and the other one is in the hospital now. This situation could have went wrong, but I applaud this homeowner. He had every right to shoot them and defend his family and property.

Even so, gun attitudes in America has changed. Back when JFK was murdered a picture of Lee Harvey Oswald emerged in which he was holding weapons and a left wing newspaper. This fact alone almost sealed his guilt at the time. Today such things are commonplace, only the politics has changed. Right wing gun nuts are everywhere. Everything has gotten out of hand.

I know you wrote this 2 years ago but it is still very relevant.......I am and always will be for gun control....The only people who are well trained to carry a firearm are the police, sherrif's dept and the military and any federal agency like the FBI or CIA....Some exceptions can be provided for hunters who actually need to kill animals for food...and maybe people in the extreme rural areas for self protection....Most of us can just call 911 when we need fire power....If guns were severely restricted and gun shows prohibited the supply would dwindle dramatically and gun violence would also fall in proportion........I was completely dumbfounded that Congress refused to act after that horrific massacre at the Sandy Hook elementary school.....THe fact that the NRA held so much influence over our legislators just shows how dangerous they are....The NRA needs to be disbanded. Their current charter has swayed so far to the right that it shows no resemblance to its original charter.....I also believe that magazines for automatic weapons should be for military use only which is just common sense................The second amendment is so outdated that it needs to be amended to reflect modern day America. I doubt very much that we need militias to fight against our federal government...this is not the 18th century anymore.......I rest my case...........